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The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
(William Wordsworth, from My Heart Leaps Up)

Become a Friend.
Bring a Friend.
Celebrate with Friends.

Click on the links above to become a Friend of the An Saol Foundation. Celebrate with your friends around the world the Adventfest on 30 October in the Thomas Prior Hall with the 40-voices-strong world-famous St John’s Gospel Choir. You will need to get that free ticket to get in. Ask 10 of your friends to sign-up too.

Ireland’s probably most famous clinical psychologist, Maureen Gaffney (from 28:53 if you want to listen back) was talking on RTÉ Radio One last week to Brendan O’Connor, mostly promoting her new book, About Life.

She also talked about the many selves we embody over the years. “You never shed your own self, it’s there, and it resurfaces every so often. Your younger self is still with you. It’s evoked in particular situations you find yourself in.”

I totally agree. The self isn’t one fixed thing. It’s a set of selves held in memory, and a particular setting moves you between your selves.

A smell, a person, being back in a schoolroom or a hospital corridor, can bring back how you felt then, not just what happened then. As a reaction, not as a memory.

Have you ever been in a class reunion and all of a sudden felt as if you were 17 again?

After a brain injury, families sometimes say “s/he’s not the same person.” Perhaps that can be the case. But I believe that the person is always there even if that earlier self is not always as present and visible as we would like. Pádraig still does never laugh about my jokes. He never did. In fact, he told me not to keep trying. They are just not funny.

It’s all about the Right Position

Last week, he had one of his regular video sessions with Kay Coombes. Helping Pádraig to get his voice back for her is all about being in the right position.

We also went into town on Saturday. Already full of people doing their Christmas shopping. Full of Christmas trees and decorations. For the first time in a long time, we went back home on a bus. We were all surprised how easy it was.

My Country, My Opinion

Last Monday, Maria was on Cormac Ó hEadhra‘s weekly current affairs discussion programme, Mo Thír, Mo Thuairim, on TG4. At the end, Cormac prompted her to squeeze in a shout-out for An Saol.

The last 13 years of my life have been more traumatic and intense than I could ever have imagined. They also helped me to keep my young self. The one that believes in the goodness of people, their care for others, their sense of justice, and their conviction that they can change the world.

We can do this. We can change the world. Make Life worth Living. Even for someone living with the long-term effects of a devastating brain injury. And their loved-ones.